Swanson’s 2-hitter spurs UWS sweep

The University of Wisconsin-Superior baseball team completed a four-game sweep of UW-Platteville with wins of 5-0 and 10-3 Monday at Wade Stadium in Duluth. The Yellowjackets also defeated the Pioneers twice on Sunday, 7-6 and 3-1.

The four wins give UWS records of 16-13 overall and 7-7 in the WIAC and keeps the Yellowjackets’ playoff hopes alive.

They are currently two games behind UW-Oshkosh (16-13, 9-9) for the final postseason berth.

UWS has 10 league games remaining, including two at UW-Stout on Wednesday. The ’Jackets wrap up the season by hosting UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater for four games over the next two weekends.

Oshkosh hosts UW-Stevens Point for a doubleheader today, then finishes its season with four games at UW-Platteville.

Former Superior Spartan Mike Swanson tossed a complete-game two-hitter with nine strikeouts and five walks to win the first game on Monday for the Yellowjackets.

Two of Superior’s runs scored on Wyatt Soderquist’s triple in the sixth inning.

Freshman Dan Genrich was the winning pitcher in game two, allowing five hits with 11 strikeouts in eight innings.

The ’Jackets scored three times in the first inning on T.J. Evanson’s team-leading seventh home run of the year.

Justin Haag added a two-run homer in the seventh, for the ’Jackets, who got four hits apiece from Rob Veith, Soderquist and Jeff Miller on the day.

UWS is back in action today at UW-Stout. The first game of the doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.

’JACKET JOTTINGS: Swanson threw 143 pitches and hit three batters. … Only four times — in 1974 (17), 2008 (18), 2009 (18), 2010 (18) — has a Yellowjacket team had more than 16 wins in a season in the past 40 years.

Sunday’s action

After getting rained out on Saturday, action resumed Sunday with Platteville leading 4-1 in the bottom of the third inning.

UWS went on to score three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the opening game 7-6, then completed its first WIAC doubleheader sweep of the season with a 3-1 win in game two.

Trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Miller’s two-out RBI single started Superior’s rally.

The tying and winning runs came in when Soderquist stole third and scored when Platteville threw the ball into the left field. Miller followed Soderquist all the way from first base and scored when the left fielder bobbled the ball and threw late to the plate.

Ashland’s Bobby Tyndall pitched the final three innings to pick up the win in relief of Spooner’s Kyle Gauger.

Left-hander Ethan Branum then pitched a complete-game gem, giving up one unearned run and scattering five hits, walking two and striking out seven.

He was helped by his defense, which twice gunned down runners at home, preserving the victory.

Softball

The UWS softball team got its two games in on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Liebaert Field and kept its WIAC playoff hopes alive by sweeping a doubleheader from UW-Stevens Point 6-1 and 10-3.

Amanda LeBard pitched a four-hitter in the opener and logged the bulk of the second game before being relieved by Lindsay Garay, who struck out three in the final two innings to close it.

Taylor VanDamme was a combined 6-for-8 with five runs and three RBIs in the sweep for UWS. First baseman Whitney Brugman added four hits, two runs and three RBIs for UWS (10-14 overall, 4-6 WIAC).

Katie Krueger had four hits to lead Stevens Point (11-21, 1-11).

Sunday’s doubleheader between the Lady Yellowjackets and UW-Eau Claire (24-10, 10-2) was moved to Monday, but the extra rest didn’t help UWS as the Blugolds won both games by scores of 10-1 and 4-2.

Jess Greagon had a pair of home runs to lead the Blugolds, who pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of three errors in the opener. Freshman pitcher Ashley Meinen picked up the win in the second game.

Superior scored both of its runs in the seventh inning and had runners on second and third when Laura Raflik, who took over for Meinen, got a strikeout to end the game.

UWS, which is one game behind UW-Stout (15-17, 5-7) and UW-La Crosse (18-9, 4-6) for the final playoff berth, hosts Northland College in a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. Wednesday, then UW-Whitewater and Oshkosh at noon on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

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